Optical properties of multilayered porous silicon

We present a short review of some optical devices based on multilayered porous silicon, which can be easily obtained by varying the formation current during the etching process. These include Bragg reflectors and Fabry-Perot microcavities, which can be adjusted from the visible to the near infrared. The interface roughness, tragic in the case of multilayers, is studied. It can be drastically reduced when changing the electrolyte viscosity. The high reflectivities obtained in this way are measured by Cavity Ring-Down Spectroscopy. Problems occurring when realising thin layers and an efficient way to adjust precisely the optical thicknesses of the thin layers constituting the multilayered structure are also presented. Finally we present a method of calculation of the emission which takes absorption into account and is able to explain the angular dependence of the luminescence. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.